IPL Permanent Hair Removal

Most adult humans develop body hair and some are hairier than others. There
are sometimes medical conditions for this but other times it is just genetic or
the way we are.

History is full of different methods of removing body hair such as plucking,
waxing, shaving and so forth.

All of these techniques remove the actual hair but do not have any effect on
the hair follicle and therefore do not have any influence on further hair growth.
In fact, some seem to stimulate the follicles so subsequent hair grows thicker,
stronger and faster.

With modern technologies, it is now possible to treat many people's hair using
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light). This not only treats the hair itself but also treats
the follicle, either destroying it or reducing its effectiveness, giving
permanent hair reduction.

As with all technologies and/or medical procedures, although the result can be
excellent, there are also warnings and certain people whom it is less effective
in.

The purpose of this website is to explain what IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is,
how is works on a hair, who is suitable and who is not, what the benefits and
risk are, what should be avoided, treatment schedules and patch testing.

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light), as well as laser, are potentially harmful if used
in the wrong hands, or incorrectly. As such, facilities which use IPL (Intense
Pulsed Light) or laser in the UK need to be registered by the Health Care
Commission.

At Saks MK, we have a very strong commitment that all of our treatments and
therapies should be effective and the personnel performing them should be fully
trained and qualified. In this way, we aim to get the best results for our
clients.

How IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) works on hair

As above, we saw how IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) generates light energy and
transmits it to the skin and skin structures.

Hair is not living. It is a band of protein called keratin.

This protein, keratin, also has a pigment mixed in with it called melanin.
Different amounts of melanin in the keratin gives the hair different colours. The
more melanin, the darker the hair - the less melanin, the blonder.

The non-living hair is produced by living cells grouped together in a small
bulb in the skin called a follicle.

If you remove the hair by plucking, these cells just continue to produce more
hair. If you shave, the hair is taken off at the level of the skin but, once
again, the cells and the follicle are unaffected.

With IPL (Intense Pulsed Light), the Light energy is absorbed by the melanin
pigment which then heats the hair. Before the treatment happens, the hair is
clipped so most of the long hair has been removed from outside the skin. This
leaves the bulb of the hair in the follicle within the skin.

When the Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is used, the melanin in this hair bulb
absorbs light and gets very hot. As this bulb is surrounded by the cells in the
follicle, they are damaged by the heat. Using the correct settings, it is
possible to completely destroy these cells so they will not produce any further
hair in the future.

Clearly, the darker the hair, the more it will absorb the IPL (Intense Pulsed
Light) and so the more it will heat up and damage the follicles. Very light hair
such as very blond hair or grey hair, does not have the colour in it to absorb
the light and therefore IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) is ineffective in very blond
hair or very white or grey hair.

In the past, people have tried to dye the hair to try and make IPL (Intense
Pulsed Light) work. Unfortunately, this does not work as the dye does not seep
down into the bulb and only dyes the hair on the surface. Research is being done
into this area at the moment but it is still a problem for people with these
colours of hair.

Clearly, it is also important that the skin does not absorb too much of the
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) light energy. Different skin colours are also due to
the pigment melanin. Black skins have a lot of melanin, tanned skins have a
reasonable amount of melanin, depending on the depth of the tan, and very white
skins have virtually no melanin at all. As we do not want to damage the skin, it
is the complete opposite of the hair. We do not want melanin in the skin and
therefore the best results are seen in people with very white skins and very dark
hair.

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) does work in people with darker skins but different
settings have to be used to try and protect the skin from being damaged.

Hair does not grow at a set rate. At any one time, some hair follicles are
alive and producing hair, whereas others are resting.

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) only damages follicles that are growing. As such,
one IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatment will be effective on the follicles that
are actively growing at that time. This varies in different parts of the body
but, as a rough percentage, about 60% of the follicles are treated at any one
time. It is for this reason that IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) treatments have to be
done in courses, allowing the hair follicles that are resting to start growing so
they can be treated in the second or third session of the course. By using a
course of treatments in this way, almost all of the hair follicles can eventually
be treated.

Please note that services are subject to availability and prices are
provided as a guide.
Please contact the salon to confirm prices and availability.